Summer cruise 2004

Date: June 12 - 20 2004
Boat: Summer Song

Trip:
Chichester; Cherbourg; St Vaast; Deauville Le Harve; Brighton; Chichester

Days: 9
Skipper: Pam Wyatt
Crew: Linda Hadcocks, Roy Burden

An unusual start to this cruise in that due to circumstances that I can't quite recall Summer Song had to leave Chichester on the evening tide while the rest of the boats had left on the early. This created three new experiences for me. It was to be my first channel crossing, first night sail and first time on a watch system. However I felt totally confident as I had sailed with Pam and Linda before and knew that things would be organised and calm and I would be told what I needed to do. I hadn't met Roy before but it appeared that he was also quite experienced.

The night was cloudless and the channel was as flat and calm as a Mill pond. Away from the artificial lights of land the dark night closes in and for the first time I get to see the night sky in full glory - an unbelievable myriad of endless stars. I think the trip could already be considered a success for this rare sight alone. We slip along on the engine as there is barely a breath of wind and soon the shipping lanes appear and I get a chance to put those classroom ships light diagrams into active service. Almost immediately some lights appear to make no sense - unfortunately it appears that ships move - they pass each other and overlap, resulting in some apparently strange configurations that can easily be misinterpreted. However with perfect visibility and a flat calm there is plenty of time in which to make any decisions. This was to be a complete contrast to the return crossing.

Right: Roy arrives in Cherbourg in the morning sunshine

The plan is to cross the Bay de Seine stopping in various places en route. The route would take us past the invasion beaches in light winds and hot sunshine, so my traditional bright red "sailing face" would soon be in evidence. The first day was to rest after the crossing but it wasn't long before the sunshine lured us out and Linda, myself and Roy trotted off to the excellent Maritime Museum. Next stop was St Vaast a short hop from Cherbourg, a small fishing village and while there isn't much going on there for some reason I really love this place.



Left: John resurrects a sail from his archives. Not as colourful as Summer Song's chute but quite effective as he pulls alongside for a photo. (Of course we slowed down to allow the opportunity)



From St Vaast due to the tides we have a very long day sail across to Deauville passing the Invasion Beaches and various obstructions. The Deauville Marina is slightly bizarre as it has all new pontoons and purpose built apartments and shops, yet we can't find the showers. After much hunting and eventually asking a security guard we find them hidden below the quayside in something akin to a wartime bunker. In complete contrast to the rest of the place the showers are small and look like they haven't been renovated for at least 15 years. We take a rest day exploring Deauville and Trouville which are very picturesque and famous for Monet's paintings of the vast beach umbrellas. Alas when I went to take the cliche photo they were all tied up!



The plan was to move on to Honfleur but unfortunately the weather is on the turn and the forecast is for strong westerlies (if I remember correctly)building from the following lunchtime. There is a grand debate among the skippers as everyone would like to go to Honfleur but the approaching weather could make it difficult, even impossible to get back up the river and most of the crews can't afford to get stuck in France. Eventually it's decided to go instead to Le Harve as it can be left at any state of the tide and gives us the option of Brighton if we can't head up enough for Chichester.

Our day exploring the unattractive concrete jungle that is Le Harve suggested we had made a mistake as the weather remained fine. On return to the Marina in the early evening there were Police everywhere, something was clearly up, the police let us through their check point after a brief questioning and we discovered that the French flagship the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was to leave that evening from the military dockyard. Come darkness the quayside was full of people as the giant ship left to a fabulous firework display over the Marina and the ships band playing the obligatory anthem. Later we were treated to another display as the promised weather finally arrived in the form of a thunder storm and the eerie howl of the wind through the masts of the marina's flotilla. For a while it seemed that we may be unable to return to England as planned.
By the time we were ready to leave the wind had abated slightly but conditions were still quite lively. The sea had built to a big steady swell and the wind was still significant. The return was to be a long tiring endurance test and the decision was made to make for Brighton rather than have to bash into the wind all the way to Chichester. (Apart from Gerry in Blue Scherzo) This crossing turned into one of those journeys that at the time you wish you hadn't started, but at the end you are pleased to have completed. The final approach into Brighton seemed to take forever but eventually we made it in, tied up and immediately hit the sack as we had spent the entire time on deck taking it in turns to doze while wedged into some nook or hang onto the helm.

Below: Lucrece rides the swell outside Le Harve

Sunday dawned with light winds and warm sunshine for what we expected to be a nice easy trip back to Chichester. However it appears you never can tell with sailing. First an hour or so out and the glorious sunshine dwindled until we were back once again in wet weather gear being thrown around. On the bright side we made great time, fairly cracking along. On turning round Selesy Bill the wind was right on the nose and as we were all rather tired decided to drop the sails and motor into Chichester. Unfortunately Fizzgig was not to be so lucky. As John started his engine the fan belt broke and he stopped to try and effect repair. We went on not realising there was a problem until John called on the radio to tell us of the problem and that he couldn't fix it with the boat bucking around. This meant John had to take long fast tacks while we stooged around outside Chichester in case he needed any help nervously eyeing the depth dwindling as the tide retreated. Eventually John made a spectacular appearance Fizzgig fairly racing along. Over the radio it was decided we would tow Fizzgig in as the strong wind and rolling sea made an approach under sail foolhardy. We passed them a line and took up the tow, making a slow trek up to the Marina at sunset (See below)

The final act was to lash the two boats together side by side so that Summer Song could use her engine to nose both boats into the lock. This Pam achieved quite magnificently with just inches to spare, in the dark with visibility reduced by Fizgig's rig and after two exhausting days sailing.